With the departure of legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey, Max Verstappen may be tempted to leave Red Bull Racing, and Toto Wolff has made no secret of his desire to sign him to Mercedes.
George Russell vehemently disagreed with any notion that he would be the backup driver in such a setup, stating that he would love to compete against Max Verstappen at Mercedes.
Ever since the internal disputes started, Verstappen has been connected to a Red Bull exit. And since Adrian Newey’s departure has been confirmed, rumors about him leaving will only grow stronger.
In an attempt to seize the opportunity, team principal Toto Wolff has already made it known that he wants to entice the Dutchman to join Mercedes. Russell is also completely unafraid of taking on the top driver in Formula One.
“Toto is always keeping me up to date,” the man stated. I’ve made it clear that I’d welcome anyone, so he doesn’t need to ask for my opinion or point of view. Every team would likely try to sign someone like Max, in my opinion, and as I’ve previously stated, I would adore the chance to face Max.
“Getting the chance to be teammates with Lewis Hamilton, who is arguably the best driver of all time, on a weekly basis makes me feel incredibly privileged. It would be wonderful for me personally to have the opportunity to do that with someone like Max.
I have faith in my skills and abilities, but I think Mercedes is a long-term project. We have big regulations coming out in 2026, so it’s crucial to keep things harmonious between ’25 and ’26. In the end, though, I think the 2000 employees at the factory, the engine, the chassis, and the new fuels that are on the horizon will be what really make a difference. Naturally, though, as I previously stated, who wouldn’t sign Max if we could?”
Throughout their tenure at Mercedes, Russell has held his own against seven-time Formula One champion Hamilton. Furthermore, the British driver appeared unimpressed with the notion that Verstappen might consider him the team’s backup driver if they were to be paired together in the future.
George Russell vehemently disagreed with any notion that he would be the backup driver in such a setup, stating that he would love to compete against Max Verstappen at Mercedes.
Ever since the internal disputes started, Verstappen has been connected to a Red Bull exit. And since Adrian Newey’s departure has been confirmed, rumors about him leaving will only grow stronger.
In an attempt to seize the opportunity, team principal Toto Wolff has already made it known that he wants to entice the Dutchman to join Mercedes. Russell is also completely unafraid of taking on the top driver in Formula One.
He stated: “Toto is always keeping me up to date. He doesn’t need to ask my view or my opinion, I’ve made it clear that I’d welcome anybody. I think having chance to sign someone like Max, every team would go for it and as I’ve said before, I’d love to have that opportunity to go against Max.
He included: “When I joined Mercedes I was joining a team-mate who’d won over 100 races, and six championships with this team and in the course of these two-and-a-half years I think I’ve fared pretty well against him. So I don’t think I need to prove anything to Mercedes or to anybody else in this paddock – I know what I’m capable of and ultimately the results speak for themselves.
“The best driver in the world is a mystery to everyone. Everyone is judged based on their teammate, and I believe I have a pretty good teammate because you can only go as fast as your car will allow. Having been Lewis’ teammate for the past three years, I don’t feel the need to prove my value. Of course, I want to fight for championships and prove more.
In my opinion, it is possible to have two drivers who are on par with one teammate rather than one who is significantly faster than the other. You could argue that they would deduct points from each other as a pairing, but in my opinion, the points balance out if you win a race and your teammate places second instead of your championship rival on another team.”
🗣💥 Russell spoke his mind and won’t take it lying down 😯
